Welcome to the first Blue Collar Beer Review.
I love craft beer and home brewing, and the culture, and there are some amazing nuances and complexities in craft beer as there are in wine. However, looking at the overly poetic, bloated reviews and descriptions of wines from basement sommaliers, and some of those on Beer Advocate, I realized something: some people are trying way too hard. These snobby 'evaluations' don't do well, in my opinion, at giving someone an idea of what a beer is like, whether they might want to try it. Many lead to disappointment because of this, some may even deter someone from a beer they may actually enjoy. Tasting beer, and wine for that matter, is about describing the flavors and sensations you get, as you get them. The great reviews on Beer Advocate really embody this, they're plain, simple and real.
Beer is easy, beer is fun, relaxing, enjoyable. We shouldn't work too hard at it, or make it intimidating. The more I learn about beer, the better I am able to enjoy it. I'm no Cicerone, nor am I BJCP certified (yet), and you may not taste or experience what I do, but I hope my descriptions will help you find more of the complexity of, and enjoyment in, your beer. Perhaps help you re-experience a beloved brew all over again. I'll simply be posting my notes as I wrote them while tasting the beers, trying to follow some form of structure, and give my own, uncomplicated overall opinion, as a regular blue collar beer enthusiast.
Elysian Brewing Co.
Elysian Brewing Co. is a series of three brew pubs based in various locations in Seattle, WA. Elysian was founded in 1995 by President/Head Brewer Dick Cantwell, CFO Joe Bisacca, and Sales & Marketing Director David Buhler. Their first brewpub, a 220 seat beer hall opened in 1997 in Capitol Hill, one of Seattle's busiest, most populated and diverse neighborhoods.
Elysian began bottling in 2001, and opened two subsequent brew pubs: Tangletown in 2003, and Elysian Fields in 2006. In 2008, they began a collaboration with New Belgium Brewing. This collaboration allows Elysian to brew large batches of their Immortal IPA at the New Belgium facilities, while New Belgium brews smaller, experimental batches at those owned by Elysian. Elysian has also recently worked out a distribution deal with Anheuser-Busch and is becoming much more widely available nation wide. You can find Elysian brews statewide in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Alaska, Colorado, and New Jersey, as well as in the metropolitan areas of Philadelphia, PA, and NYC Metro, NY.
Now, on to the beer.
Avatar Jasmine IPA from Elysian Brewing
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| Elysian's description doesn't quite fit. |
6.3% ABV, 22oz bomber poured into a pint glass.
I'm interested in infusing one of my own upcoming brews with lavender, so I was curious about a jasmine ale. I picked up a bomber of Avatar, and here are my findings:
It pours a deep golden, almost a light copper color. The head is thick, frothy, and very resilient. This beer needed a slightly gentle pour.
The aroma was very...interesting. It was very sweet in a floral way, somewhat chalky or dusty. It reminded me a bit of what candy necklaces smell like. Jasmine was VERY dominant, I could detect no hop aroma, and certainly no malt.
The body was quite light, which is okay for an IPA. I found the carbonation to be pretty low, lower than I'd prefer. Jasmine overwhelms the flavor. It's a very interesting taste with a very cool, leafy green quality. Very vegetal and twiggy. Despite Elysian's description of their beer:
"...the taste is an elegant balance allowing the subtle flavor of jasmine to prevail while still delivering the I.P.A.'s essential hoppiness."
I found nothing but a palate bludgeoning sledgehammer of jasmine in every aspect of the taste. There is a good bitterness to it on the very perfumy finish which I can only assume is from hops. However, I could not actually taste the hops, and again, as with the aroma, I couldn't detect any malt character either.
Overall, I can appreciate this beer. It's definitely worth a shot, especially if you enjoy jasmine tea. I understand why some people enjoy it, but I think it needs work. The jasmine is simply overpowering, and it just isn't a beer I'd care to drink even a full pint of (which I didn't). Give it some more clean hoppiness, malt backbone, an English style IPA. Make the jasmine a truly subtle secondary ingredient, and I believe Elysium would have a winner.
Thanks for reading my review of Elysian Brewing's Avatar Jasmine IPA. This is my first beer review so please feel free to comment below or email here and let me know what you think! I hope you enjoyed it.
Cheers!
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| Stubborn Agnes |
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